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NEW YORK CITY REGIONAL CENTER-MANAGED ENTITY AWARDED $45 MILLION IN NEW MARKET TAX CREDITS FOR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROJECTS

$45 million allocation from the U.S. Department of Treasury will help spur economic development in underserved areas throughout New York City

NEW YORK, NY – January 17, 2017 – The New York City Regional Center is pleased to announce an award of $45 million in New Market Tax Credits from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the U.S. Department of Treasury. The credits will be allocated to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by the New York City Regional Center. This allocation marks the first New Market Tax Credit award received by the New York City Regional Center and among the first managed by an EB-5 regional center. The $45 million award provides a unique opportunity for the company to continue its mission of providing financing that creates jobs and stimulates community revitalization in underserved areas of New York City.

The New Market Tax Credit Program was created by Congress in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low income neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to capital. Historically, low-income communities often have difficulty attracting investment, as evidenced by vacant commercial properties, outdated manufacturing facilities, and inadequate access to education and healthcare service providers. The New Market Tax Credit Program aims to break this cycle of disinvestment by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies. Private capital is incentivized by providing federal income tax credits to investors in exchange for making equity investments in low income neighborhoods.

The $45 million New Market Tax Credit allocation will be used to provide financing to community development projects that typically face financing challenges, such as health care centers, community facilities, industrial space, grocery stores, and small business retailers located in underserved areas of New York City.

“We are proud of our eight-year track record of providing capital for economic development projects throughout New York City,” said George L. Olsen, Co-Managing Principal of the New York City Regional Center. “This $45 million allocation from the U.S. Department of Treasury will allow us to expand our capacity and mission to spur economic development and job creation in areas of need in New York City.”

“We are thrilled to receive this allocation,” added Mary King, Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Regional Center. “The $45 million New Market Tax Credit award will help spur economic growth, create jobs, and bring new services and opportunities where they are most needed in New York City. We look forward to supporting many community projects and businesses throughout the city.”

The 120 organizations receiving awards were selected from a pool of 238 applicants across the nation and will receive a total of $7 billion in New Market Tax Credit awards. This is the largest single award round since the New Market Tax Credit Program was created.

To receive a New Market Tax Credit allocation award from the U.S. Department of Treasury, the New York City Regional Center was required to demonstrate a mission and track record of providing investment capital for low income communities. Since its designation in 2008 by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the New York City Regional Center has secured $1.36 billion of capital for twenty-one different economic development projects. Examples of investment in New York City include:

$165 million to finance projects in the Bronx including the construction of a food processing and distribution center in the Harlem River Yard and the expansion of the Hutchinson Metro Center;

$107.5 million to finance projects in Washington Heights (an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone) including the redevelopment of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station and the construction of a mixed-use medical office facility adjacent to area hospitals;

$767 million to finance projects in Brooklyn including seven projects within the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City’s largest industrial park; and,

$225 million to finance the construction of a public high-speed wireless infrastructure network in all New York City subway stations and along the city streets.

“We are pleased that the New York City Regional Center has been recognized as an organization with a proven track record of providing capital to areas in need of investment,” said Paul Levinsohn, Co-Managing Principal of the New York City Regional Center. “The allocation from the U.S. Department of Treasury provides a terrific opportunity to deliver financing to underserved communities and continue our role in supporting economic development and job creation.”

About New York City Regional Center

The New York City Regional Center was approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008 to secure foreign investment for real estate and infrastructure projects within Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. The company was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City. Examples of projects utilizing loans provided by New York City Regional Center-managed funds include the following:

the redevelopment the Brooklyn Navy Yard;

the redevelopment of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Washington Heights;

the construction of the City Point development in Downtown Brooklyn;

the redevelopment of a new cargo facility at JFK International Airport;

the construction of a food processing and distribution facility in the South Bronx;

the expansion of Steiner Studios, New York City’s largest film and television studio;

the construction of a hotel and medical office complex in Washington Heights;

the construction of a wireless infrastructure network in New York City’s subway stations;

the expansion of the Hutchinson Metro Center in the Bronx;

the construction of LinkNYC, the public-private initiative that is bringing the nation’s largest and fastest public Wi-Fi network to the streets of New York City.

In addition to fueling economic development, New York City Regional Center offerings have enabled over 2,400 individuals to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. To date, investors in its offerings have received over 2,340 I-526 petition approvals and over 800 I-829 approvals. Over 5,100 EB-5 investors and family members in New York City Regional Center offerings have also received conditional residency in the United States.

For more information about the New York City Regional Center, please visit www.nycrc.com.

About the New Markets Tax Credit Program

Established by Congress in 2000, the New Markets Tax Credit Program permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a non-fundable tax credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). CDEs that receive tax credit allocation authority under the program are domestic corporations or partnerships that provide loans, investments, or financial counseling in low-income urban and rural communities. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. The CDEs in turn use the capital raised to make investments in low-income communities. Since 2001, New Market Tax Credits have generated more than $42 billion in investments in low-income communities and businesses, resulting in the creation and retention of more than 500,000 jobs, and the construction or rehabilitation of more than 164 million square feet of commercial real estate.

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